Department for Transport

Network Rail

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they intend to publish responses to the consultation on the draft Shaw Report on the future structure of Network Rail.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Government has asked Nicola Shaw to undertake an independent report on the future shape and financing of Network Rail and it is up to her whether she chooses to publish the responses to her consultation.

Network Rail

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to consult on any recommendations contained in the Shaw Report on the future of Network Rail due to be published in March.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Nicola Shaw has been asked to produce an independent report into the future shape and financing of Network Rail and her work will look at all the options. Government has no pre-determined view of the right outcome and will not be dogmatic about the future shape of Network Rail as we want the right outcome for passengers and taxpayers. Government looks forward to receiving the final report and will respond in due course.

Driving under Influence

Lord Rea: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the risk of a driver's involvement in a collision involving injuries or death when they have a blood alcohol concentration of 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood or more; and how that assessment of risk compares with that made when the alcohol limit for drivers was set in 1967.

Lord Rea: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of recent studies of driver impairment after drinking alcohol, and whether those studies support the current alcohol limit for drivers.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Sir Peter North’s 2010 Review of drink and drug driving made an assessment of various studies. The Coalition Government responded in March 2011 by setting out its position on maintaining the current limit. This Government agrees with that assessment and we do not believe any further studies have provided sufficient evidence to change that position. There are therefore no plans to change the current laws.

Driving under Influence

Lord Rea: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to advise drivers of the risks involved in driving after drinking alcohol.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Government advise drivers of the risks involved in driving after drinking alcohol in a number of ways. The Department for Transport’s THINK! drink drive campaign raises awareness of the risks and consequences of drink driving. The campaign aims to reinforce the social unacceptability of drink driving and achieve positive behaviour change amongst drivers. In December 2015, THINK! ran a £2.9 million drink drive campaign. This campaign targeted males aged 17-34, who are disproportionately represented in drink drive killed and seriously injured (KSI) casualty statistics. We advertised this campaign on TV, online video and radio, and supported this with wider PR and social media activity. In addition we work with partners including Coca-Cola, Budweiser and Johnnie Walker to provide incentives to drivers (such as buy one get one free soft drinks) to avoid drink driving. THINK! also provide materials to road safety professionals to run campaigns and provide information on the risks of drink driving to drivers locally. The driving theory test addresses the subject of drink driving and the topic is covered extensively in driving learning materials. The Government also works with organisations to provide Drink Drive Rehabilitation Schemes (DDRS) for first time offenders. The courses aim to allow reflection of behaviour and achieve behaviour change.

Railways: South West

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 1 February (HL5287), whether they intend to ask the National Infrastructure Commission to undertake work on railway links between London and South West England; and if not, why not.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) currently operates in shadow form, and the Government is consulting on its governance, structure and operation. The NIC has a mandate to examine the country's most pressing infrastructure challenges across all sectors of economic infrastructure – including energy, transport (roads, rail, ports and airports), water and sewage, waste, flood defences, and digital communications‎. There has not yet been decision on future studies to be undertaken by the NIC. The Government remains committed to investment in railway links between London and the South West, regardless of whether a study is undertaken by the NIC. This is an unprecedented investment in rail infrastructure in the South West, totalling over £400m. This includes; resignalling the mainline from Totnes to Penzance, developing a strategic freight network, electrifying the Great Western Main Line, refurbishing the Cornwall sleeper, £35m to repair the tracks at Dawlish, a brand new station at Newcourt and another planned at Marsh Barton and 29 new AT300 trains.

Motor Vehicles

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether it is legal to cause a driverless vehicle to be operated on a public highway, and if not, what legislation would be necessary to allow that to happen in the future.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: In February 2015, the Government published “The Pathway to Driverless Cars”: a detailed review of the regulation around the use of driverless cars on UK roads. It was followed by the Code of Practice for testing which was published in July 2015 – a light-touch non-regulatory approach that established the UK as among the best places in the world to test driverless cars.

Motor Vehicles

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which national and local authorities have the powers to allow structures and equipment to be erected on or adjacent to highways in order to allow driverless vehicles to use those highways; which authorities would be responsible for giving technical accreditation and approval to such erections; whether a person responsible for the operation of a driverless vehicle requires a driving licence or some other kind of authorisation; and whether a person when operating a driverless vehicle is required to be present in that vehicle while it is moving or otherwise in operation on a highway.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Any structure off the highways would need local planning permission. For structures on the highways, local planning authorities have a power to stop the erection of structures within the permitted development rights of all highway authorities where they think there would be an environmental impact. This includes visual as well as other impacts. The local Highway authority is responsible for technical approval of structures‎ within the highway boundary. In the case of the Strategic Road Network the agency would be Highways England and design would be in line with the requirements of the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB). In February 2015 the Government published “The Pathway to Driverless Cars”: a detailed review of the regulation around the use of driverless cars on UK roads. It established that it is possible for a driverless vehicle to be tested on UK roads provided that, among other conditions, a suitably qualified test driver or test operator would be in a position to take control of the vehicle if necessary. A test operator is someone who oversees testing of an automated vehicle without necessarily being seated in the vehicle, since some automated vehicles might not have conventional manual controls and/or a driver’s seat.The Government is currently working to establish what changes to the domestic and international regulatory system will be necessary to safely enable the sale and use of driverless vehicle technology on UK roads.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Homelessness

Baroness Gould of Potternewton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have undertaken any analysis to determine why there has been an increase in the number of homeless people; and, if so, what assessment they have made of the impact of the Homeless Prevention Fund provided to local authorities and increased funding of programmes for the homeless.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: This Government has always been clear that we are committed to supporting the most vulnerable people in our society. One person without a home is one too many. That is why we have protected the homelessness prevention funding local authorities receive, totalling £315 million by 2019-20. This builds on our commitment to increase central government funding for homelessness programmes to £139 million over the next four years.We are working with homelessness organisations to consider other options, including legislation, to ensure those at risk of homelessness get earlier and more effective support. Through a series of roundtables we have already started conversations to help shape and inform our future approach to tackling homelessness and deciding our investment priorities.During the last Parliament the Homelessness Prevention Grant and our investment in homelessness programmes helped prevent 935,800 households from becoming homeless.We will continue to use the information provided to us by local authorities to assess the causes of homelessness and the extent of homelessness prevention and relief activity, in order to help shape future policy and investment.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

North Korea: Crimes against Humanity

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 8 February (HL5360) and the Written Answer by the Minister of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Hugo Swire, on 29 January (HC23512), whether the UK will act on the information that officials from a number of state institutions and ministries of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea are responsible for possible crimes against humanity in North Korea, and ensure that there is no impunity for those accused of serious human rights violations.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: As stated in the previous responses, we remain deeply concerned about the human rights situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The UN Commission of Inquiry report highlighted the horrific human rights violations perpetrated by the regime, including details of officials from state institutions and ministries.The Government supports the principle that there must be no impunity for those accused of human rights violations and that crimes against humanity are appropriately investigated.We will continue to work with members of the international community through multilateral fora, including the UN Security Council and the UN Human Rights Council, to ensure the regime is held to account for its appalling human rights record.

North Korea: Human Rights

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many meetings have been held between senior officials of the UK and representatives of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea since the release of the report of the UN Commission of Inquiry on 7 February 2014.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: Our Ambassador to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and senior officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) have met representatives of the DPRK on a number of occasions since 7 February 2014. These meetings are part of normal diplomatic business and play a crucial role in our policy of critical engagement with the DPRK. The FCO does not keep a record of the number of individual meetings.

North Korea: Human Rights

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which Democratic People's Republic of Korea ministries' representatives the British Embassy in Pyongyang has met since the release of the report of the UN Commission of Inquiry on 7 February 2014.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: Our Embassy in Pyongyang has met with a number of officials from various Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) ministries since 7 February 2014. These meetings are part of normal diplomatic business and play a crucial role in our policy of critical engagement with the DPRK.

North Korea: Princess Yachts International

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government why they did not respond to correspondence sent by the UN Panel of Experts, as listed in UN Security Council Report S/2015/131; and whether they have investigated the actions of Princess Yachts International in the light of the sighting of the Princess 95MY yacht in North Korea in 2013.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The Government fully cooperated with the Panel of Experts on this matter. Following a request to the Government for assistance, the Panel were put in direct contact with Princess Yachts International to follow up on their investigations.

North Korea: Sanctions

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to investigate and address the role of the Embassy of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in London in evading UN Security Council sanctions in respect of their submission of vessel registration changes to the International Maritime Organisation in 2014; and what assessment they have made of the involvement of embassies of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea worldwide in sanctions evasion.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: Vessel registration is a matter for Flag state action. The UK is not a Flag state for any Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) vessels, so has not been involved in investigating this issue. We have processes in place to verify the provenance of any vessel registered under the British flag.There are documented links between the DPRK’s diplomatic missions and its proliferation activity which are in breach of sanctions. For example, the UN DPRK Panel of Experts reported that DPRK Embassy officials in Cuba were engaged in making arrangements for the 2013 Chong Chon Gang shipment of conventional arms and related materials in violation of UN Security Council Resolutions. We have since worked with partners to encourage the need for vigilance over possible illicit activity taking place by DPRK diplomatic missions.

Burundi: Diplomatic Relations

Lord Boateng: To ask Her Majesty’s Government on how many occasions in each of the last three years the Ambassador of Burundi to the UK has been (1) called to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to discuss events in Burundi, and (2) met a minister.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: Mr Deo Sindayihebura became the first Burundian Ambassador to the UK in May 2014. Until then the position was based in Paris. The most recent meeting between the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge), and the Burundian Ambassador was on Wednesday 3 February.Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers have regular contact with Ambassadors and High Commissioners during their normal diplomatic duties. We do not hold central records of all such meetings.

Burundi: Diplomatic Service

Lord Boateng: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many full-time accredited diplomatic staff are employed in the British Embassy Liaison Office in Bujumbura; and of those, how many are not locally engaged, and what are their civil service grades.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: Our Embassy Liaison Office in Bujumbura is a subordinate post, covered by our High Commission in Kigali. It has three full time locally engaged staff. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is seeking to appoint a full time accredited diplomatic officer to be based in Bujumbura. Our High Commissioner to Rwanda is accredited as the British Ambassador to Burundi while the Department for International Development Head of Office in Rwanda also covers Burundi. Full-time accredited diplomatic staff at our High Commission in Kigali and elsewhere in the region support political engagement with Burundian actors and visit Burundi regularly.

Burundi: Diplomatic Service

Lord Boateng: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of the level of representation facilitated by the British Embassy Liaison Office in Bujumbura in the light of recent events in Burundi; and what consideration they have given, if any, to the upgrading of its status to that of a full diplomatic post.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The current security situation in Burundi has made it difficult for our locally engaged staff to provide the level of political representation that they have done in the past. We have responded by increasing the frequency of visits by diplomatic staff, within the security constraints. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge), considered upgrading the level of diplomatic representation in December 2015, and he decided to recruit a full time Burundi coordinator based at our Embassy Liaison Office in Bujumbura. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is in the process of appointing this officer.

Burundi: Diplomatic Service

Lord Boateng: To ask Her Majesty’s Government on how many occasions in each of the last three years the Ambassador of the UK to Burundi (1) visited Bujumbura, and (2) met the President of Burundi.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: In 2014 our Ambassador visited Bujumbura on eight occasions and met with President Nkurunziza on three occasions.In 2015 our Ambassador visited Bujumbura on seven occasions and met with President Nkurunziza on two occasions.In 2016 our Ambassador has visited Bujumbura on one occasion so far.

Israel: Palestinians

Lord Turnberg: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the recent statements by Ismael Haniyeh, a Hamas leader, that they are rebuilding tunnels from Gaza with the intention of attacking Israel.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We remain deeply concerned by Hamas' attempts to rearm and its efforts to rebuild infrastructure, including the tunnel network in Gaza. We are clear that Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza must permanently end rocket fire and other attacks against Israel. Any Hamas rearmament undermines efforts to improve the situation in Gaza and harms prospects for peace and stability in the Middle East.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Recall of Unsafe Products Review

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 11 November 2015 (HL3158) and 13 January (HL4697), when they will publish the report of the review of unsafe product recall chaired by Lynn Faulds Wood and their response to it.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The review of the UK unsafe product recall system chaired by Lynn Faulds Wood and the government response was published on the 18 February.

Trade Union Bill

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many regulation-making powers are contained in the Trade Union Bill.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Trade Union Bill contains 12 regulation making powers. Details are set out in the Delegated Powers memorandum, updated ahead of introductions in to this House in November 2015. A summary is attached.



Delegated Powers
(Word Document, 17.78 KB)

Department for International Development

Prosperity Fund

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether their new prosperity fund will give priority to countries with large refugee and migrant populations, lack of own resources, or tourism reduced by wars, such as Lebanon, Jordan and Tunisia.

Baroness Verma: The Government has not yet approved any country allocations from the Prosperity Fund.

Department for Education

Pre-school Education

Baroness Jowell: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what policies they intend to implement in recognition of the contribution of the first 1,000 days of a child’s life to its subsequent academic and other attainment.

Lord Nash: As the Prime Minister made clear in his speech on 11 January 2016, the government understands the importance of those first crucial years of life and that we need to get parenting and the early years right if we are to improve children’s life chances. The government will be publishing a Life Chances strategy in the spring which will set out a comprehensive plan to fight disadvantage and extend opportunity, including policies to give children the best start in life.The government is already implementing a range of policies which recognise the contribution of the first 1001 days of a child’s life to its subsequent academic and other attainment, which are detailed below. Healthy Child ProgrammeThe evidence based Healthy Child Programme is the universal service offered to every family. Delivered by health visitors, the programme centres on a series of screening tests, immunisations, developmental reviews, and information and guidance to support families of children aged 0-5 years. Since October 2015 there have been five mandated child development reviews, to provide a national standard format to ensure universal coverage and ongoing improvements in public health. Effective implementation of the Healthy Child Programme should lead to readiness for school and improved learning. Best Start in Life programmeOne of Public Health England’s (PHE) national priorities is to ensure that every child has the best start in life, so that they are ready to learn at age two and ready for school at five. The Best Start in Life programme provides national leadership to support local areas to take a whole system approach to commission and provide evidence based services and interventions which improve child health outcomes and reduce inequalities. PHE also has has also published a range of professional guidance for best practice to support families in the first 1001 days. Integrated Review (IR)In 2013, DfE ran a joint Integrated Review pilot with the Department of Health (DH) which focused on two-year-olds in registered childcare settings. This was to test out the most effective way of undertaking the early years progress check with the universal DH Healthy Child Programme and providing parents with a holistic review of their child’s development. In 2015, we provided funding to support the roll out of the IR by all local authorities in England. We are currently piloting the second phase of the IR with eight local authority pilot areas to test different local models of how early years practitioners can collaborate with health professionals to identify parents of two year-olds not in registered childcare settings, so that their children can also benefit from an Integrated Review. Early Learning for Two Year OldsThere is a strong body of evidence that shows good quality childcare and pre-school provision, especially from age two and upwards, has positive benefits on children’s all round attainment and behaviour. For this reason the government introduced the early learning for two-year-olds programme in September 2013 for 130,000 of the most disadvantaged children in England. In September 2014, the programme was later expanded to 260,000 of the most disadvantaged children in England. The programme is becoming increasingly popular amongst eligible parents.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Channel Four Television

Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many meetings took place between May 2015 and January 2016 inclusive, in which ministers from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport discussed the future of Channel 4.

Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury: To ask Her Majesty’s Government on what dates between May 2015 and January 2016 inclusive, meetings took place in which ministers from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport discussed the future of Channel 4.

Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which Special Advisers and Permanent Secretaries attended any meetings in which ministers from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport discussed the future of Channel 4 between May 2015 and January 2016 inclusive.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Details of Ministerial meetings, and Permanent Secretary meetings, with external organisations are published on a quarterly basis and are available via the gov.uk website. Historic records of internal government meetings are not kept.

Art Works: Exports

Lord Smith of Finsbury: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they are giving, and on what timescale, to the drawing up of proposals for substantial change to the current arrangements for export licensing for nationally important works of art.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Government is open to considering practicable improvements to the export licensing system for cultural goods, but has no immediate plans to make any substantive change to the current arrangements.The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport has written to the noble Lord in relation to his recently proposed changes to the system and is grateful for his correspondence on this matter.

Department for Work and Pensions

Universal Credit: EU Nationals

Lord Green of Deddington: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the proposed restrictions on access to in-work benefits mentioned in paragraph 2(b) of Section D of the draft Decision of the European Council published on 2 February will apply to Universal Credit, and if so, to which elements of Universal Credit those restrictions will apply.

Lord Freud: Universal Credit is a single, indivisible benefit. Universal Credit claimants receive a single monthly amount based on various criteria, including family size and the level of any housing or childcare costs and taking into account earnings and other household income. The final award is therefore a single amount and elements cannot be separated.  The final agreed Decision of the Heads of State and Government adopted at the European Council on 20 February 2016 makes clear that the emergency welfare brake will apply to non-contributory in-work benefits. All EU workers arriving in the UK while the brake is in operation will have to wait for four years before getting full access to these benefits.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Agriculture: Floods

Baroness Byford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many farming businesses have applied for funding from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Flood Recovery Programme.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: At close of business on 22 February, 208 grant applications from farming businesses, worth almost £2.3 million had been submitted to the Rural Payments Agency (RPA). Of these, 128 had come from farmers in Cumbria, with the other applications from farmers in Yorkshire, Lancashire, Northumberland and County Durham.103 grants had already been approved with a total value of over £1 million. The RPA is working with farmers to process the remaining applications.

Home Office

Refugees: Middle East

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what special education programmes are being provided for those Iraqis and Syrians who have reached the UK since 2012, broken down into those for (1) children, (2) young people, and (3) adults.

Lord Bates: Asylum seekers and those granted refugee status or humanitarian protection have access to free state schooling. Those granted refugee status have immediate access to student support for higher education courses.Local authorities in England are responsible for providing additional educational support, such as English language training.Where schools need to provide additional support for English as an Additional Language (EAL) pupils the funding arrangements enable local authorities to allocate a proportion of their funding to schools on the basis of the number of pupils in each school who have EAL and who have been in the school system for a maximum of three years.

Broken Rainbow LGBT Domestic Violence Service

Baroness Hussein-Ece: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to support the Manchester-based charity Broken Rainbow.

Lord Bates: The Government is committed to tackling domestic violence and abuse. Broken Rainbow plays an important role in supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender victims of domestic abuse, and the Home Office has informed Broken Rainbow that it will be renewing funding to support its helpline for 2016/17.

Police Custody: Children

Lord Mawson: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the policy of the police to support complainants of child sexual assault who are under 18 years of age with specially trained officers, what assessment they have made of the case for extending the use of specially trained officers to support all children and young people under 18 years of age who are brought into police custody, and what plans, if any, they have to make such a change.

Lord Bates: The Government is committed to ensuring that children and young people are protected and treated appropriately in all circumstances while in police custody. As set out in the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) 1984 Codes of Practice C&H, every child or young person taken into police custody on suspicion of committing an offence must be provided with an Appropriate Adult, whose role it is to safeguard their rights and welfare. In addition, a parent or legal guardian must be informed of their detention.It is the responsibility of the chief officer of each force to adhere to the safeguards set out in PACE and its Codes of Practice. Police forces should ensure that officers interviewing child victims, including victims of sexual assault, are trained to apply the relevant College of Policing and Ministry of Justice guidance. The College of Policing’s Advanced Professional Practice on ‘Concern for a Child’ is clear that the police should always consider the services of a registered intermediary when a vulnerable child victim is interviewed.

HM Treasury

Channel Four Television

Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which Special Advisers and Permanent Secretaries attended any meetings in which ministers from HM Treasury discussed the future of Channel 4 between May 2015 and January 2016 inclusive.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: HM Treasury Ministers and officials have both regular discussions with colleagues and meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. It is not government practice to release details of routine officials’ discussions as to do so would be impracticable and potentially prejudice the effective conduct of public policy development. Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available on the gov.uk website.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Hinkley Point C Power Station

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the risk that issues around financing the provision of the Hinkley Point C power station will delay the commencement of that project.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: Good progress continues to be made so that Hinkley can provide clean, affordable and secure energy that families and businesses can rely on into the future. The financing of Hinkley Point C is a commercial matter for the parties involved.

Natural Gas: EU Action

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they anticipate imminent proposals by the European Commission compelling member states to send gas supplies to any other state in the case of emergencies; and if they expect such proposals to be brought forward, whether any decision would be taken by qualified majority voting or unanimity.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: Commission proposals for a revision to the existing security of gas supply regulation were published on the 16 February. We will need to consider carefully the precise emergency arrangements that are proposed and how they might impact on the UK. These proposals will of course be subject to the usual negotiation process during which the Government will seek to achieve the best possible outcome for the UK. A final text will need to be agreed by qualified majority voting in the Council and in agreement with the European Parliament.

Fracking

Lord Truscott: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the light of the experience in Oklahoma in the US, they plan to commission a detailed study into the potential correlation between fracking in the UK and more frequent earthquakes.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: Waste water re-injection in the US has been linked to seismic activity, but this technique has not been proposed in the UK and the Environment Agency will not permit re-injection of waste water into any formation at this stage. In the UK, we have over 50 years’ experience regulating the onshore oil and gas industry. Our regulator regime is robust and we have strong controls in place to mitigate the risk of any seismic activity in the UK. 



DECC: Traffic light system
(PDF Document, 775.37 KB)

Air Pollution

Lord Hunt of Chesterton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether their policy for reducing carbon emissions in the UK over the next five years is consistent with their policy for reducing the average concentration of air pollution, and whether they will publish data relevant to that assessment.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: Improving the quality of our air and reducing carbon emissions are important priorities for Her Majesty's Government. Later this year we will be publishing detailed plans on how we will deliver against Carbon Budgets, including information about how these measures can also support air quality objectives. Further information on the synergies across these policy objectives was outlined in DEFRA’s air quality plan, Improving Air Quality in the UK - tackling nitrogen dioxide in our towns and cities, December 2015.

Northern Ireland Office

Belfast Agreement

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government who is responsible for ensuring that, in discussions under the Belfast Agreement 1998 with the government of the Republic of Ireland, only those entitled to attend the appropriate strands do so.

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government who decides the agenda for discussions with the government of the Republic of Ireland under the Belfast Agreement 1998.

Lord Dunlop: Discussions with the Irish Government in matters relating to the Belfast Agreement are in accordance with the established three-stranded approach to Northern Ireland affairs. A commitment to continue to uphold the three-stranded approach was also contained in the Government’s Northern Ireland manifesto at the General Election.

Belfast Agreement

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether in paragraph 3 of the Declaration of Support in the Belfast Agreement 1998 "equality between these islands" includes parity of esteem for all on or of those islands.

Lord Dunlop: Paragraph three of the Declaration of Support in the Belfast Agreement commits the participants involved in the multi-party negotiations that led to the Agreement ‘to partnership, equality and mutual respect as the basis of relationships within Northern Ireland, between North and South, and between these islands’. The United Kingdom Government is committed to affording due respect and parity of esteem to all the people in Northern Ireland as underpinned by the Agreement and in accordance with the obligations on the Government to promote equality and prevent discrimination across the United Kingdom.

North South Ministerial Council Joint Secretariat

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what has been the cost to the public purse in each year since 1998 of the operation of the secretariat of the North/South Ministerial Council agreed to in the Belfast Agreement 1998.

Lord Dunlop: The North/South Ministerial Council is funded jointly by the Irish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive. The operating costs of the secretariat are published by the NSMC in their Annual Reports which are available on their website.

Human Rights: Republic of Ireland

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the section of the Belfast Agreement 1998 entitled Human Rights, in the subsection Comparable Steps by the Irish Government, what is their interpretation of the meaning of the statement that that government will bring forward measures to ensure "at least an equivalent level of protection of human rights as will pertain in Northern Ireland"; how that commitment is monitored; and what changes the government of the Republic of Ireland reported to them as a result of that commitment.

Lord Dunlop: The Belfast Agreement commits the Irish Government to ensuring an equivalent level of protection for human rights in Ireland to that established in Northern Ireland by the Agreement. As a result of this commitment, the Irish Government established the Irish Human Rights Commission, which in November 2014 merged with the Equality Authority to form the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission. The UK and Irish Governments meet regularly both at ministerial and official level to discuss issues of mutual interest and concerns including matters relating to the implementation of the Belfast Agreement in each jurisdiction. These include matters relating to human rights in Northern Ireland and Ireland.

Terrorism: Northern Ireland

Lord Lexden: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the total sum to date that has been paid in compensation to persons found guilty of terrorist-related offences in Northern Ireland whose convictions have been overturned because the activities of British agents were not disclosed to the courts; how many further such claims for compensation are pending; and whether compensation will be paid if more claims are made.

Lord Dunlop: It is long standing policy of successive Governments neither to confirm nor deny the involvement of agents of the Security and Intelligence Agencies in any specific activity in order to protect the UK’s national security. I am therefore unable to comment further. However, where national security sensitive information is relevant to an application for compensation for a miscarriage of justice in Northern Ireland, for example where the Court of Appeal is unable to make public its full reasons for quashing the conviction, the decision on whether compensation is payable is one for the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. In making that decision, she will apply the new test set out in section 133(1Z) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, namely that compensation is payable “if and only if the new or newly discovered fact shows beyond reasonable doubt that the person did not commit the offence”.

Department of Health

Stem Cells

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government under what circumstances embryonic stem cell lines that have been derived from human embryos subjected to genome editing by means of CRISPR-Cas9 would be considered to conform to good manufacturing practice and classed as clinical grade by either the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority or the UK Stem Cell Bank.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that it has licensed one human embryo research project involving the use of genome editing CRISPR-Cas9. One objective of this project is to derive human embryonic stem cells. As outlined in the HFEA Inspection Report, there is no intention for these stem cells to be used in human application. In these circumstances, there is no need to assess whether they conform to good manufacturing practice and are classed as clinical grade.

Laboratories

The Countess of Mar: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many NHS and Public Health England (PHE) medical or microbiology laboratories (1) are, and (2) are not, currently ISO 15189 accredited; and what is the schedule for such accreditation of NHS and PHE laboratories.

The Countess of Mar: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many NHS and Public Health England laboratories that carry out Lyme borreliosis testing (1) are, and (2) are not, ISO 15189 accredited; and when they expect the Rare and Imported Pathogens Laboratory to be so accredited.

The Countess of Mar: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to relocate testing for Lyme borreliosis away from the Rare and Imported Pathogens Laboratory; and if so, when they expect the move to take place, and whether the new laboratory will be ISO 15189 accredited at the time of the transfer.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Department of Health, Public Health England (PHE) or NHS England do not hold information about which laboratories are and are not International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 15189 accredited. A list of accredited laboratories is held on the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) website and is the definitive list of accredited laboratories to which the Department, PHE and the NHS refer. Accreditation is covered by the Clinical Pathology Accreditation (CPA) company until recently, and is now part of the UKAS scheme. There is no intention to transfer the Lyme disease testing service from the Rare & Imported Pathogens Laboratory (RIPL) to another laboratory. RIPL as a department will move from the Porton site as part of the PHE relocation scheduled to commence in 2018 but no decision on the exact date has been made. RIPL is scheduled to transfer to ISO 15189 in late summer 2016, when the ISO inspection team review the tests offered by the laboratory under ISO 15189. Until that time, the laboratory is operating under CPA in accordance with the transition process laid down by ISO.

Department of Health: Lobbying

Lord Naseby: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps the Department of Health plans to take to ensure that it complies with the announcement of the Cabinet Office on 6 February that no payments or grants awarded to organisations should be used for the influencing or attempted influencing of (1) Parliament, government or political parties, (2) the awarding or renewal of contracts and grants, or (3) legislative or regulatory action.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Department will review the terms of its grant awards and associated grant monitoring processes in line with guidance issued by the Cabinet Office on the 6 February 2016.

Action on Smoking and Health

Lord Naseby: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to review the grant awarded to the organisation Action on Smoking and Health in the current financial year in the light of the announcement by the Cabinet Office on 6 February in relation to charity funding.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The conditions applicable to grants awarded to Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) are set out in the grant award letters, including a specific clause in the grant award letter which makes explicit that the award has been made under the provisions of Section 64 and may not be used for lobbying. ASH’s compliance with the conditions of the grant is assessed at the grant monitoring meetings held between the Deputy Director of tobacco control and representatives from ASH as well as in the final full year grant monitoring and governance reports.

Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the NHS Trust Development Authority has not published the findings of the review of whistle-blowing and governance at the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The NHS Trust Development Authority intends to publish the review as soon as possible. It is making publication arrangements in the light of its legal advice.

Sugar: Taxation

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Prior of Brampton on 9 February (HL5598 and HL5599), whether they intend to reject calls to impose a sugar tax.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Our Childhood Obesity Strategy, which will be launched shortly, will look at everything that contributes to a child becoming overweight and obese including sugar.